Please describe your experience with insulin resistance.

My 11-year-old daughter was diagnosed with insulin resistance a year ago. No matter how much or little she ate, she continued to gain weight. Her thyroid levels were normal, and her pediatrician blamed her for the weight gain, telling her she needed to cut out the food. He told me to put her on a 1,000 calorie a day diet! I took her to a pediatric endocrinologist who immediately diagnosed her. She's been on Metformin, and so far, she has lost about 20 cm from her waist. She has more energy, and now loves to participate in sports that were almost impossible for her to do in the past. The treatment has been life-changing for her. She knows she will have this problem for the rest of her life. The only drawback is that the Metformin makes her nauseous, and I have to make sure she takes it daily. I want to tell all parents to listen to your intuition. If you see that no matter what your child does, he/she cannot lose weight/inches, insist on blood tests. Pay close attention to the insulin, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Don't let the pediatrician tell you it's nothing. Find a pediatric endocrinologist and have your child evaluated. You don't want to let this go untreated!

I'm a senior in high school and was diagnosed with insulin resistance in my freshman year. I have skin tags on my neck and very bad acanthosis nigricans (“a darkening and thickening of the skin”) on my neck and other areas of my body. I've been living with it and trying to get it under control for four years now, but it's hard. I have never had “healthy” eating habits, and I don't exercise as much as I should. I don't really have the motivation. Well, I haven't had it. Now that I'm getting ready to graduate high school and enter “the real world,” I'm more motivated to eat healthier and start working out. But it's not easy with the temptations. In fact, it's very difficult, being that I have very little self-control. Just today I bought one of those zebra cakes because it looked so good. It's hard, but I'm trying!

I knew for some time that I had a problem with how things were metabolizing in my body. It was my perception that no matter WHAT I did as far as exercise and diet, I either did not LOSE weight, or I gained weight. My thyroid has been "checked" endlessly to no avail. I would get woozy and extremely grumpy if I hadn't eaten in a while. I knew I had a blood sugar issue. My grandmother died from complications of diabetes. I had to get someone to listen to me. My gynecologist finally did and referred me to a bariatric doctor. He reviewed blood tests he had ordered and my history. He interviewed me and asked me questions that seemed odd, but ultimately he got the information out of me he needed. He said I was insulin resistant and had metabolic syndrome. He prescribed a low glycemic diet, a pedometer for keeping track of steps (and knowing to increase them), and he prescribed Metformin. In five weeks, I had learned how to control my intake of carbs, increase my exercise levels, and, most importantly, lost 8 pounds. I still crave bread and pasta, but I can control it. With the idea not of "I can't have that", but "I can have a little." Pasta can become a side dish and not the main (and whole course). Bread intake can be reduced to one slice and quite frankly, 7-grain or 9-grain bread is quite tasty. I'm on my way to a healthier me.

Since my daughter was born she was always larger in size than she should be. With every effort made in trying to get an answer I was told she should stop eating muffins. My child has been through so much and is continuing to struggle with insulin resistance. She has been on medication for the past 4 years, she has exercised and dieted and still she cannot lose weight. She loses some weight then cannot lose anymore. She is 15 years old and it saddens me to think there is no real answer for this. Doctors and professionals really need to investigate until something real is found.

I am insulin resistant and have been for the past four years. I slipped a disk and then had a spinal fusion. I gained 100 pounds in three years after the back problems, and I had a brace to walk for almost a year. I have -- in the past two years -- lost 66 pounds and work out regularly for 45 minutes or more on my exercise bike. I have gone from eight pills a day to only one with diet and exercise. I have sleep apnea, and if I loose 40 more pounds, I may be able to get off the pills and CPAC. I have to watch and count everything I eat and I am working for that goal.

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